Driverless cars have arrived, and they are buzzing round the streets of Greenwich. Reporter JAMIE MICKLETHWAITE was on hand to take a closer look.

Driverless car trials have been officially launched at Peninsula Square in Greenwich.

Business secretary Vince Cable and transport minister Claire Perry boarded the Meridian Shuttle for its inaugural voyage on Wednesday.

Greenwich will host trials which will see the Meridian Shuttle, a fully autonomous vehicle, take to the streets of Greenwich.

GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment project), chosen by the Goverment to demonstrate automated vehicles in urban environments, will be examining all aspects of the trials, including interaction with pedestrians and drivers.

Despite looking like a milk float the Meridian really is an impressive machine.

Within three presses of the interactive screen we were off and the journey remained smooth throughout.

Travelling on the Meridian Shuttle felt very similar to standing up on the bus and if I'd had my eyes shut, I would have had no idea nobody was driving it.

Convincing members of the public to trust a vehicle with no driver will be tough, but if they manage that, then driverless cars could be a great form of transport for the Borough.

Mr Cable said: "The pilot study is quite adventurous, you've got this vehicle going into residential areas and down the peninsula.

"I think it will help to embed Greenwich's reputation as a centre for I.T and you''ve got the advantage of a lot of space, well developed infrastructure and it's very close to the city.

If all goes well, it is hoped the Meridian will serve as a mode of public transport.

When the vehicle is fully operational, people will be able to summon the Meridian to their stop through the use of an app.

Ms Perry said: "The application of that will work in urban public transport and also in rural areas where you often have isolated elderly people who can't necessarily get down to a bus stop and can't use a car.

She also stressed driverless cars would help reduce road accidents caused by human error and make roads much safer for cyclists.

She added: "The driverless car is paying attention all the time, it isn't stopping to text, to look at a map or open a sweet.

Greenwich was chosen as one of four destinations to trial driverless cars in the UK after a successful bid from Greenwich Council and Transport Research Laboratory.

Greenwich Council leader Denise Hyland said: "It's utterly fantastic, of the cars here the Meridian is the only one that is able to be used to ferry people around.

"Greenwich is at the forefront of the digital agenda, the digital sector here employs more people than are in manufacturing so we're delighted to take part in the trials."

The trials are scheduled to begin this summer with eight vehicles being operated.

During the trials, there will be a driver onboard the Meridian to take control in case of an emergency.